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$56M Worth of Cocaine Found at French Coca-Cola Factory

Shawn is the host of The Cipher, a critically acclaimed hip-hop podcast that conducts in-depth interviews with the genre’s most interesting and important figures. He is a regular contributor at Forbes.

Shawn is also the former editor-in-chief of Rap Genius, and has written about music and culture for The Atlantic, Vibe, The Source, GQ, Esquire, The Sondheim Review, and more.

In what was either cosmic irony or a case of criminals being a bit too on-the-nose, a stockpile of cocaine worth $56 million was found this week in France...in a Coca-Cola factory.

The AP reported that the factory in Signes, which produces concentrates, had a little something extra hidden in a recent shipment of orange juice concentrate from Costa Rica. Authorities discovered 370 kilograms (815 pounds) of coke hidden in bags—one of the largest such busts in the country's history.

According to the New York Times, local officials quickly ruled out plant employees. “The first elements of the investigation have shown that employees are in no way involved,” said Jean-Denis Malgras, the company’s regional president. A local prosecutor called the discovery "a very bad surprise."

It is generally believed that early versions of Coca-Cola itself contained coca leaf extract, but the company says that cocaine was never an "added ingredient."

People on social media couldn't avoid cracking jokes about the incident.

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